trit

trit /trit/ /n./ [by analogy with `bit'] One base-3
digit; the amount of information conveyed by a selection among one
of three equally likely outcomes (see also bit). Trits arise,
for example, in the context of a flag that should actually be
able to assume *three* values -- such as yes, no, or unknown.
Trits are sometimes jokingly called `3-state bits'. A trit may
be semi-seriously referred to as `a bit and a half', although it
is linearly equivalent to 1.5849625 bits (that is,
log2(3)
bits).